Yarn weight conversion chart and beginner’s guide. Knit on 5½ to 7mm needles. If you enjoyed this post, why not check out some of my other free patterns, tips, and tutorials? Notice how the yarn gradually gets thicker as the category number goes up. Understanding yarn weights can be a little confusing for crocheters of all skill levels. Now we’re starting to get into the medium weight and heavier weight yarns. Yarn weight refers to the thickness of the yarn. If you’re following a pattern, using yarn that is the correct thickness is very important. If you’re looking at US yarn brands or patterns, you might see sport weight yarn mentioned. Originally created for fishermen’s jumpers. It's a range, from super fine to super bulky. In most cases, as long as the yarn you want to use is in the same category as the yarn used in the pattern, it should be okay to substitute. This system (wraps per inch ) always has confused me. So, whether you’re a newbie or you’ve been yarning for years, stick around and check out some of my FREE patterns & tutorials! Yarn weight does not refer to how much the skein of yarn weighs in ounces or grams. This helpful chart also allows you to compare different yarns weights. You can interchange yarns within the weight. I hope this helps! . A 2ply yarn has two strands, a 3ply has three and so on. But don’t worry, we’re here to translate! You may also share one photo from each post, as long as the photo is not altered or changed in any way. Plies are still commonly used as names for yarn weights, particularly in the UK and Australia, even though weight and ply are no longer always related! Here’s our at-a-glance guide to the most common yarn weights in the UK and US, and the needles to use with them: If you’re new to knitting, patterns can look like they’re written in another language. A 4ply yarn might not have four plies – it could have more or fewer. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Associated with outdoor wear and winter jumpers, great for oversized garments. Many baby yarns are sport weight. These yarns are great for socks, shawls, scarves, clothing, and just about any project where you want a light, drape-y fabric. However, I do not know all of the precise weights of all of the combinations. Knit on 3 to 4mm needles. There’s no direct equivalent in the UK as sport weight sits between two categories: heavier than 4ply but lighter than DK. To get the best results it’s a good idea to use the weight of yarn specified in your pattern, although tools such as YarnSub can help if you want to find a substitute. The Yarn Weight Chart below gives a handy comparison of different knitting and crochet yarns along with needle and hook sizes, approximate meterage to the 100g and WPI, using UK, US, German and Australian terminology. Hi Theda! The #2 yarns are often labeled as Sport Weight. *This post may contain affiliate links. Yarn count Approximate thickness: 2/48000 to 2/60000: super very fine 1 ply: 2/36000: very fine 1- ply: 2/34000: fine 1 - ply: 2/30000: full 1 - ply: 2/28000: 1-ply: 2/24000: 1 1/2 - ply: 2/20000: 2 - ply: 2/16000: Full 2 - ply: 2/14000: 3 - ply: 2/10000: Fine 4 - ply: 2/8000: 4 - ply Footer menu. Yarn Weight (Thickness) Knitting and crochet yarns come in different weights, or thicknesses. If the yarn my pattern calls for has 127 yards in a 50 gram skein, and the yarn I want to use has 123 yards in a 50 gram skein, those two yarns will be very similar in thickness. The best guide to Yarn Weigths + a free Yarn Weight Conversion Chart to have on hand when picking yarn for your projects. These yarns make any project work up quickly. There are so many different colors, textures, and fibers that if you don’t know what to look for, it may be a bit overwhelming to choose just one yarn for your project. Tension is measured as the number of stitches and rows per 10cm/4inches. Knit on 2 to 3½mm needles. I would recommend holding the two yarns together and using the wraps per inch test to figure out what yarn weight it is now equivalent to. (See this post for more info on Knitting & Crochet Gauge.). Yarn weight guide. Its knit gauge is 23-26 stitches per 4 in / 10 cm on 3.25-3.75 mm needles (US size 3-6 needles). Yarn weight is important in achieving the correct gauge or tension for a particular project and can help with yarn substitution. Size 10 crochet thread also falls into the Lace weight category. Aran, however, weighs slightly more than worsted yarn – so they are not exactly the same weight. Please be kind enough to explain this to me. Buying yarn can be a tangly business. The Craft Yarn Council has a page on their site with a chart (here), showing the recommended hook and needle sizes to use with each yarn weight, as well as the recommended gauge. – it’s an ideal weight for socks and baby garments. Again, it is generally fine to just pick a yarn that falls into the same weight category as the yarn called for in your pattern. Cast on and off loosely. CATEGORY 0: LACE (APPROXIMATE EQUIVALENT OF 1 PLY) This is the lightest weight of yarn used for making doilies and other lovely lace designs. Jumbo Yarn, a relatively new member of the Yarn family is very thick and used in Arm knitting. Yarn weight is categorized using a standard system of numbers, symbols and names. For example, two yarns may both be labeled as #4 Medium, but one may be slightly thicker than the other. However it’s not as complicated as you might think. But there’s another thing to consider before you decide which yarn to use: thickness. Light worsted is the same as DK in the UK. Yarns come in a range of standard sizes (the most well-known being set by the Craft Yarn Council), which can be found written on the ball band along with the suggested needle size and tension. Parts of a Crochet Stitch // 3. Fine weight yarn is 12 wpi. Need to choose yarn for a project? Happy Yarning! Knit on 4 to 5½mm needles. Thank you! As mentioned in the article above, DK yarns are in the #3 Light category, which is also called Light Worsted. There would be a huge difference using a pencil versus a 2 inch wide ruler to wrap the yarn around. The thickness of your yarn (among other factors) has a huge impact on the look of your knitted or crocheted fabric — and certainly the amount of time it takes to complete it. That might not seem like a big deal, but sometimes, the weight categories are called by different names. This keeps the yarn wrapped around the ruler with as little tension as possible, so you can get an accurate measurement. What exactly does DK mean, after all? Whether you’re on your first project or just need a quick refresher, check out our knitting abbreviations for the common stitches you’ll find in our patterns. If you’re yarn shopping in another country, you’ll want to check into the yarn weight system that is used there. Yarns come in a standard range of sizes, but the names can vary from country to country. These yarns are a bit thicker than Superfine / Fingering yarns, but still create a lightweight fabric. Here are the yarn weights you’ll most commonly encounter in the UK, and our recommendations for what to knit with them. Bulky yarns are great for when you want to make a thick, squishy project in a short time. Digital Assistant, Simply Knitting and The Knitter. As a result you can generally use it as a substitute for both weights, but make sure you swatch, swatch, swatch first to check that your tension is a good match! So i have put together a simple guide to understanding yarn weights for your reference. Hi! My favorite hooks for crocheting amigurumi are Clover Amour hooks in size B (2.25 mm), size C (2.75 mm), and size D (3.25 mm) depending on my yarn weight. Try 6 issues of Simply Knitting magazine for £9.99. Use when DK isn’t heavy enough, and chunky is too bulky. The thickness of a yarn can have a huge effect on how your project turns out. Aran yarn is a medium weight yarn that can be known in the US as worsted weight yarn listed in the medium weight category. When choosing the right yarn for your project, size matters. I do know that two strands of #4 worsted weight yarn are similar in thickness to a #5 bulky yarn. When you count the wraps per inch for the doubled yarn, you’ll want to treat the double-strand as though it was one strand. Ply refers to the number of strands that are plied, or twisted together, during spinning to create a single strand of yarn. Yarn weight is important in achieving the correct gauge or tension for a particular project and can help with yarn substitution. Also what the heck is "ply"? However, if you want to be even more precise with your yarn substitution, you can look at the ratio of yarn length to skein size. In the USA you would probably see this called a medium weight yarn or DK yarn, in the UK DK yarn or 8 ply and in Australia also 8 ply. Yarn Weights demystified! Industrial counts. #4 yarns are very common in stores, and I think they are probably the most popular. Knitting and crochet are my passion, and I love helping others create beautiful things from yarn. Knit on 7 to 12mm needles. Depending on which country you are in, there are many different terms for yarn weights. Although the weight categories give a guidelines for yarn thickness, there is still some variation in thickness, even among the same category. These yarns may be labeled as DK weight or Light Worsted, but both terms refer to yarns of the same thickness. How to Check Gauge in Crochet. They are very thick, so you’ll need some pretty large hooks or needles to work with them! 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